CHENNAI: Ever been a part of guided tours and felt guilty that you could not take moment to cherish the heritage site that you have always wanted to visit? Don't feel bad any more, as Storytrails has launched an app called Audio Tours, with which you will never miss another important nugget of info.
Storytrails has been organising several story-based tours and experiences across Chennai, Madurai and Puducherry for the last 10 years. Their USP is that their walking tours are thematic and not just based on heritage. “Each trail has a theme — it could be dances, jewellery, bazaars...they connect everything from history and mythology to everyday life. We usually find an unusual thread and we build upon that. These trails are hosted by different people from different walks of life like RJs, travel writers, dancers, theatre artistes and many others,” says Vijay Kamalakara, founder, Storytrails.
The app is a way to reach a wider audience. "We get a lot of booking for our tours and we are booked even for 2018. With the app the advantage is that you can set out on a tour, at your convenience, at your own pace, as opposed to the trails conducted by us where we can accommodate around 15 people and at a fixed time," he says.
The Audio Tours, which is nominally priced, has curated theme-based stories, and you can access it via your phone.
“The app is location aware. As you walk through the city, if there is an audio tour nearby, the app prompts you. It then takes you around the trail too,” shares Vijay.
Apart from being location-aware, the app also allows you to access a lot of other contents like archival images, maps and illustrations of the trail.
If you want to know about a city sitting at the comforts of your home, you can do that too. Currently, there are six trails — four in Chennai and two in Mahabalipuram. “Over the next one month, we will be adding more trails. In a couple of other months we are planning to launch in other South Indian cities like Kanchipuram and also international destinations like Singapore. The initial idea is to get feedback from users and we will be tweaking and adding content over the next few months,” explains Vijay
Elaborating more on the themes that are available now, Vijay says, “The first one is called British Blueprints which is divided into two parts. It is about how the British came here, what they did and how it impacted our lives, what stories do colonial buildings tell,etc.As you walk, the app will prompt you to stop and then provide you the details.”
The second trail, again in two parts, is about Christianity in the city. The first part, called Times of St Thomas, begins at St Thomas Mount and ends at Santhome Basillica and the second part, on the evolution of Christianity, begins at Luz Church and ends at Andrew's Kirk. “The trails will talk about kings, queens, people who made the city, the dynasties that ruled here, architecture, interplay of various religions, languages, scripts and more.”
Storytrails is a team of writers who read up all the time. They have historians on board and also those passionate about history to help them curate stories. “We spend a lot of time on researching and even more time to write. We look to expand the team to bring out more such trails,” he adds.
While most of the participants are guests from other cities, roughly around 20% are people from Chennai. “The Audio Tours are targeted at guests but it is for anybody who is curious to know more about the history of their own neighbourhood.”
The app is available on Android and iOS. Each tour is priced at Rs 190